Hitmen forward London Hoilett sings new tune away from rink

Calgary Hitmen forward London Hoilett plays with a lot of passion when he's on the ice.

Away from it, he has a passion for music.

The 18-year-old says he got into music when he was in Grade 8 and started making videos on his phone.

"Over time, it kind of grew into something bigger," he said.

"I wanted to pursue it, so I just got right after it and got a job and bought some equipment and decided to teach myself how to use it and I feel like it paid off.

"I'm getting better and I'm excited to release more music and share it with you guys."

JUST CALL HIM TY KIDDO

When he's on the mic, Hoilett goes by the name Ty Kiddo.

He's already released his music on YouTube and has dropped some songs on Spotify, too.

Hoilett says he has a wide range of music.

"I try to experiment a lot, so you might hear me do some boom bap rap or melodic rap, which is more of the modern-day rap, or rhythm and blues is what I'm doing recently," he said.

"I like R&B and some alternative pop, just pretty much everything, but I'd say R&B is my favourite."

TEAMMATES TUNING IN

Hoilett has become a real hit with his teammates.

Forward Carson Wetsch says he definitely tunes into Ty Kiddo's music.

"Sometimes, on the way to school or on the way to the rink, I'll be scrolling through my playlist and I'll see Ty Kiddo on there and I'll click on it and listen to a few songs," he said.

"I think it's unbelievable. I mean, you've got a guy like that on your team and, you know, it's quite different from hockey but it's great stuff.

"He's up there. I think he could take that pretty far."

IMPORTANT TO HAVE OUTSIDE INTERESTS

Head coach Steve Hamilton says it's important for hockey players to have interests outside of the rink.

While Hamilton says he hasn't listened to Hoilett's music, he knows he's a talented kid.

"We made a joke the other day. He was on the auxiliary cord there for the tunes in the room and I'd asked him if it was a little bit of a home rendition or if he'd brought something to the tunes himself. He laughed," he said.

"But no, I think he's a special kid and he's obviously a really talented guy and, you know, I think it's pretty awesome that he's got that many creative outlets."

LOVE OF BOTH HOCKEY AND MUSIC

Hoilett loves hockey and he loves music and whether it's at the rink or in the studio, he says he wants to keep doing both for as long as he can.

"I mean, I'm trying to take hockey and music as far as I can take them both. I don’t think there's any reason to hold back," he said.

"We only live once so just doing what I love."